Base construction for furniture, such as tables and chairs



May 27, 1958 P. L. DODDS 2,836,007 BASE CONSTRUCTION FOR FURNITURE, suca AS TABLES AND CHAIRS Filed May 21, 1956 3 h T2; 2 T v 27 a r 5/5 25 17 a 5 J7 r; J5 g l 3 a! 4 12 .2401. I. .Daoos,

IN V EN TOR.

- 1 //II l 3 By United States BASE CONSTRUCTION FOR FURPJITURE, SUCH AS TABLES AND CHAIRS Paul L. Dodds, Pasadena, Caiif.

Application May 21, 1956, Serial No. 586,064

2 Claims. (Cl. 45-139) It is a well known fact that floors are uneven and that furniture placed upon the door has a tendency to wobble back and forth on the legs. As a consequence, various and sundry devices have been proposed, such as adjustable height casters and gliders, as well as the use of wedges for placement under the low leg to adjust it for firm engagement with the floor. The present invention provides a device which is adjustable by the foot or hand and will compensate for any unevenness of the floor, regardless of where the table, chair, or other furniture is positioned thereon.

Other objects include an adjustable base of simple construction, inexpensive in cost of manufacture, and generally superior to devices for this purpose now known to the inventor.

With the above mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel and useful provision, formation, construction, association, and relative arrangement of parts, members and features, all as shown in one embodiment in the accompanying drawing, described generally, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a table incorporating the invention,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the base of the invention,

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 of Figure 2, and on an enlarged scale,

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, and on an enlarged scale,

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 55 of Figure 3, and on an enlarged scale, and,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of one of the cross pieces of the invention, and on an enlarged scale.

Referring now with particularity to the drawing, I have shown in Figure l a table including the table top 1, a pedestal 2, and a base member 3. The base member, as shown in Figure 2, includes fixed cross members 4, 5, 6 and 7, the cross members being in substantially 90 relationship, with all cross members interconnected, as shown. The sides and ends of said cross members are provided with a marginal fiange, designated generally as 3, while the outermost ends of the fixed cross pieces have the flange reduced in height, as shown in Figure 1, at 9. The fixed cross piece 7 has its outer end grooved or reduced in height, the top wall 19 thereof providing a cam face, that is to say, the wall 10 is slanted with respect to the base 11 of he encircling marginal atent ice flange for all of the fixed cross piece pieces. Inward from the marginal flange 8 and transversely bridging each fixed cross piece is a downwardly extending enlargement 12 which has the same depth relative to the inner face of each cross piece as the width of the flange of the portion 9. Each fixed cross piece is provided with an extensible part 13. Such an extensible part includes a top member 14 provided with a marginal flange 15. The top member is provided with an elongated slot 16 which extends from the innermost end of said extensible part. The extensible part 13 for each fixed cross piece 4, 5, and 6 is secured to its respective enlargement 12 by passing a screw 17 through the slot 16 into a threaded bore 18 in said enlargement 12, in each instance. In the case of the extensible part for fixed cross piece 7, I use the construction best illustrated in Figure 6, and wherein the screw 17 is provided the same as before and received in the threaded bore 18 in enlargement t2, the enlargement, however, being grooved at 19 with the elongated slot 16 of greater width than the width of the slots for the extensible parts in fixed cross pieces 4, 5 and 6. The said screw 17 is provided with a washer 26 positioned on the inside surface of the extensible part, which screw is surrounded by a loose fitting sleeve 21 passed through slot 16. The said sleeve carries an elongated arm 22, the outer end 23 of which is curled as shown. The under surface of said arm is provided with a lug or enlargement 24 engaging the outer surface of the top 14 of the extension for fixed part 7. As shown in Figure 4, the lug 24 forces the top surface of the lever against the cam surface 10 of the extensible part for fixed cross piece 7, this lever being adapted to swing across the top of the extensible part.

The operation, uses and advantages of the invention just described are as follows:

The extensible parts for each fixed cross piece allows a sufiicient length to properly balance the side of the table top, in one instance, chair or other furniture in the second instance. Furthermore, the extensible parts not to compensate for any tendency to wobble on an uneven floor. However, I have assumed that all of the extensible parts for the fixed cross pieces 4, 5, 6, and 7 have been adjusted outwardly at an equal length, as shown in Figure 2. It is a known fact that most uneven floors may be balanced, so far as a table is concerned, by raising or shimming one of the leg members. When the type of base has cross parts, as shown in Figure 1, as a rule the diametrically opposite cross members will rest on the floor Without tip and the other diametric pair of cross members needs only one of the cross members shimmed to take out all wobble from the table. The present invention, therefore, accomplishes this desired result through the medium of the lever 22, which may be moved back and forth across the cam surface 1:1 of the fixed cross member 7. As the table has considerable weight, the top surface of the lever is forced against the cam surface 10 while the lug 24 engages the top of the extensible part of the cross piece 7. Thus, it may be considered that either the flange of the extensible part for cross piece 7 is forced against the flooring, or that the flange of said extensible part is already in engagement with the flooring and rocks the fixed cross member 7 upwardly or downwardly, depending upon the position of the lever 22 relative to the cam surface 19. Rock is permitted for the construction shown in Figure 6, and wherein one end of the lever engages the bottom surface of the enlargement 12 with rocking allowed due to the loose fit of sleeve 21 about the screw 17. If desired, a leaf spring 25 may be interposed between the bottom surface of the extensible part and the washer 20. Such a construction would at all times force the extensible part to rock so that the lever 22 and the trated inlFigures 2 and 3. 1'

lug 2 4 are in tight working relationship with the cam surface 10. A

V The securing of the pedestal 2 to the fixed cross piece is conventional andxis not described as it is fully illus- If desired, the extensible parts adjacent their outer flanged ends may be provided with depending rubber feet 26 secured to enlarged sections 27 of said extensible parts. in any positionof extension relative to the fixed cross pieces by tightening of the, nuts 17.

The construction shown lends itself to adaptation to pedestal type tables which may have end pedestals, such as would include one diametric pairof fixed cross pieces,

rte-Win15 and 7, the other cross pieces 4 and 6 being It is obvious that the extensible pa'rts are'held reduced in width, the fourth of said fixed'cross pieces having its end flange formed witha cam surface, ex-

tensible parts for each cross piece and extending through the reduced width end flanges, a swing lever carried by the fourth fixed cross piece engaging the cam surface 7 and positioned between the latter and, the extensible part for said fixed cross piece; and movement of said lever along said cam'surface' raising or lowering the said fixed cross piece relative to said extensible; part.

2. In furniture construction, a base having at least two diametrically arranged fixed'cross pieces, oneof said cross pieces provided with an extensible part and said cross piece provided with a transverse cam surface,

7 v a swing lever carried by said cross "piece for engaging the cam surface, and positioned between the latter and extensible part swing movement of said lever along said cam surface raising or lowering the'fixed cross piece relative to said extensible part.

References Cited in the file of this patent I UNITED STATES PATENTS I H 925,558 Britton June 22, 1909 1,919,193

Beiger July 25, 1933 

